Donna Winger and Roger Harrington Murdered by Mark Winger, Springfield, Illinois, United States
This source-based behavioral analysis does not establish a clinical diagnosis, motive, or legal finding.
The source describes a relationship pathway involving a publicly idealized marriage, a concealed affair, alleged pressure to end the marriage, severe violence, and later alleged efforts to influence or silence a witness. The behavioral interpretation is source-limited and based on testimony, interviews, investigative accounts, and convictions rather than a clinical evaluation of the participants.
Mark and Donna were portrayed by family and community members as a close and successful couple who had recently adopted a child. The later disclosure of Mark's affair with Donna's best friend introduced deception, competing attachment, and a reported desire to leave the marriage. The prosecution connected those dynamics to the homicide, while Mark admitted the affair but denied the murder-related allegations.
The reported pathway moved from concealed infidelity and alleged relationship dissatisfaction to a violent incident initially explained as self-defense, followed by investigative doubts, witness disclosure, a murder conviction, and a later conviction involving an alleged plan against the witness and a family member.
Each entry separates the reported behavior or state from the analytical strength of the available narration.
| Behavior / construct | Person / subject | Detailed case context | Evidence |
|---|---|---|---|
| Marital dissatisfaction Relationship stressor | Mark Winger OffenderHusband of the victim |
The source presents possible marital dissatisfaction through Schultz's account rather than through an uncontested statement by Mark. The alleged wish to exit the marriage is important because it links relationship decision-making to the later prosecution theory. Mark's denial leaves the psychological meaning and factual basis of the alleged statements disputed. Context or trigger: Dean Schultz reported that Mark wanted out of his marriage and discussed it being easier if Donna died. Reported expression: The alleged desire to leave the marriage appeared alongside an affair with Donna's best friend. Mark admitted the affair but denied discussing Donna's death. |
Explicitly reported Confidence: Moderate |
| Infidelity or competing attachment Relationship stressor | Mark Winger OffenderHusband of the victim |
The affair created a competing attachment within Donna's close social circle and introduced secrecy into the marriage. It also gave investigators a relationship context for examining whether Mark had a motive to end the marriage. Mark acknowledged the affair, making the existence of the affair less disputed than its relevance to the homicide. Context or trigger: Mark's affair with Donna's best friend reportedly began about a month before Donna's death. Reported expression: The concealed affair overlapped with Mark's marriage and continued for several months after Donna died, according to Schultz. |
Explicitly reported Confidence: High |
| Deception or concealment Behavioral pattern | Mark Winger OffenderHusband of the victim |
The concealment construct is supported by the hidden affair and by the prosecution's interpretation of Mark's 911 call and police statements. The account remains legally contextualized by Mark's conviction, but the source also records his continuing denial. The alleged concealment affected both the relationship and the investigative narrative. Context or trigger: The affair was concealed, and prosecutors argued that Mark falsely portrayed Harrington as an unknown intruder. Reported expression: The source describes an initial self-defense account, Mark's statement that he did not know Harrington, and later evidence linking them through a planned meeting. |
Narrative-supported psychological state Confidence: High |
| Premeditation and planning Planning or impulsivity | Mark Winger OffenderHusband of the victim |
The reported planning construct rests on a combination of physical evidence and witness testimony rather than a clinical assessment. The 4:30 p.m. note and testimony about arranging a direct meeting were treated as evidence of an organized encounter. The prosecution further argued that the violence against Donna and the positioning of Harrington served a deliberate cover story. Context or trigger: Investigators linked the appointment note, the meeting with Harrington, body-position evidence, and Schultz's allegation that Mark discussed killing Donna. Reported expression: The prosecution argued that Harrington was lured to the home and that the scene was staged to resemble an intruder attack. |
Narrative-supported psychological state Confidence: High |
| Impression management Post-offense behavior | Mark Winger OffenderHusband of the victim |
The source describes a highly persuasive initial narrative that positioned Mark as a grieving husband and self-defense victim. Investigators later reconsidered whether that presentation shaped public and police interpretation before all evidence was reviewed. This observation concerns the reported effect and alleged behavior, not a definitive conclusion about Mark's internal intentions. Context or trigger: The initial report presented Mark as a distressed husband who had defended Donna from an intruder. Reported expression: His emergency call and account generated strong community support, while later prosecutors argued that the account misrepresented what happened. |
Narrative-supported psychological state Confidence: Moderate |
| Emotional escalation Escalation | Case-wide |
The case shows escalation across relationship, investigative, and post-conviction stages. The affair and alleged conversations about Donna's death were followed by a violent scene that was initially interpreted in a different way. Later allegations involving Schultz and Ira Dresser indicate that the conflict continued beyond the original homicide. Context or trigger: The relationship conflict included a concealed affair, alleged desire to end the marriage, a frightening dispute involving Harrington, and lethal violence. Reported expression: The reported conflict progressed from secrecy and interpersonal tension to two deaths, a reopened investigation, and later alleged retaliation against a witness. |
Narrative-supported psychological state Confidence: High |
| Help-seeking or disclosure Coping response | Dean Schultz WitnessLover of offender |
Schultz's later disclosure functioned as a major help-seeking and truth-telling action within the investigation. The source portrays her as burdened by the secret and concerned that Donna did not deserve to die. Her disclosure had both investigative consequences and personal costs, including becoming the alleged target of a later murder-solicitation plot. Context or trigger: Schultz carried information about the affair and alleged conversations for approximately three and a half years. Reported expression: She eventually disclosed the affair and allegations to police, helping reopen the case, while also describing severe distress and a prior overdose attempt. |
Explicitly reported Confidence: High |
| Suicidal ideation or behavior Suicidal behavior | Dean Schultz WitnessLover of offender |
The source explicitly reports suicidal behavior and severe emotional distress in Schultz after the homicide. It does not establish a clinical diagnosis or fully explain the relative contribution of guilt, grief, fear, or other pressures. The attempt was nonfatal according to the report. Context or trigger: Schultz described distress and guilt related to the affair and Donna's death. Reported expression: She reported hospitalization, drinking, and attempting to overdose, and said that she wanted to die. |
Explicitly reported Confidence: High |
| Staging or evidence concealment Post-offense behavior | Mark Winger OffenderHusband of the victim |
The staging construct is the prosecution's interpretation of the Polaroids, the note, and the reported sequence. It became central after investigators determined that Harrington's photographed position did not match Mark's description. Mark disputed the reconstruction and said paramedics moved Harrington before the photographs. Context or trigger: Investigators concluded that the body positions and the initial intruder account were inconsistent. Reported expression: The prosecution argued that the crime scene had been arranged to support a false self-defense narrative. |
Narrative-supported psychological state Confidence: High |
| Instrumental aggression Offender behavior | Mark Winger OffenderHusband of the victim |
The later conviction supports analysis of alleged aggression as instrumental because the proposed violence was tied to witness control and case protection. The source reports written notes and recordings describing the proposed steps. Mark said the plan was a fantasy, but a jury convicted him of soliciting murder. Context or trigger: The later prosecution alleged that Schultz and Ira Dresser were targeted to undermine the murder case and protect Mark. Reported expression: The reported prison plot involved kidnapping Schultz, forcing recanting statements, killing her, and possibly killing Dresser. |
Narrative-supported psychological state Confidence: High |
Select a stage to expand it; scroll horizontally to follow the full sequence.
The couple married in 1989 and were described by relatives and community members as happy, successful, and closely connected. They wanted children and adopted a daughter in June 1995. The later disclosure of an affair complicated the earlier public image of the marriage.
Dean Schultz reported that she and Mark began an affair approximately one month before Donna's death. The affair reportedly continued for several months afterward, creating a concealed attachment involving Donna's best friend.
Donna reportedly felt frightened and unsettled during the shuttle ride with Roger Harrington. Mark complained to Harrington's employer, and investigators later considered whether the ride provided a credible reason for Harrington to be present or a basis for an intruder narrative.
Mark reported finding Harrington attacking Donna and shooting him. The later prosecution argued instead that Harrington had been invited to a meeting and that Donna was killed with a hammer as part of a staged scene. Both the initial account and the later disputed reconstruction are preserved in the source.
After years of withholding information, Schultz disclosed the affair and alleged conversations about Donna's death to police. Her disclosure prompted investigators to reopen the case and reassess the original evidence, including the overlooked Polaroids.
After Mark's murder conviction, an inmate reported that Mark sought help in a plot targeting Schultz and possibly Ira Dresser. The source describes written and recorded planning related to forced recantation and killing. Mark denied intending to carry out the plan, but he was later convicted of soliciting murder.
Arrows show the sequence described in the source narrative; they do not prove that one psychological state caused the next event.
The source is a television report containing interviews, retrospective interpretations, disputed testimony, and edited narration. It does not provide a clinical assessment, complete forensic records, or a fully independent account of every contested event. Psychological constructs below describe reported behavior and supported analytical inferences, not diagnoses or proof of causation.